A/N Gallant Old Engine's the basis of this.
Hey, it's us, again. The narrow-gauge engines, that is. I, Skarloey, shall tell this story. Duncan, Peter Sam and Rheneas are in it, too.
Duncan would not stop grumbling. He grumbled that he wasn't polished enough. He grumbled that he was overworked. Most of all, he grumbled about the passengers.
"I'm ashamed of you, Duncan," I said. "Thank goodness Rheneas is coming home soon. Perhaps he'll teach you some sense before it's too late."
"What has Rheneas to do with me?" That was Duncan.
"Rheneas saved our railway," I replied.
"Please tell you about it," said Peter Sam.
"Well," I began. "It was before you came here. Things were bad. Rheneas and I had to keep the trains running or our railway would close."
"How awful," murmured Peter Sam.
"I've tried hard," I continued. "But my old wheels ached. Rheneas understood."
"It's my turn now," he'd tell me. He was often short of steam, but he always struggled to the station and rested there.
"I mustn't stop between stations," he'd say. "The passengers wouldn't like it."
"Hmph!" huffed Duncan. He had stopped on a viaduct and hadn't cared at all. I'd heard all about that, so I told him about passengers.
"Passengers," I continued "get cross if you stop at the wrong places. Rheneas stopped in a wrong place once and this is what happened One wet and windy afternoon the rails were damp. Rheneas was traveling home with a full train. There were even passengers in the caboose. It wasn't a comfortable ride at all. Rheneas' wheels kept slipping and it was a steep climb. At last. his wheels gripped the rails again."
The worst is over, he thought. Now, we're away.
But they weren't.
"AAH, AH, GOT A CRAMP," he groaned.
And Rheneas stopped on the loneliest part of the line. His driver examined him carefully.
"Your valve gear is jammed. We need to reach the next station. Do you think you can still get us there?'
"I'll try," replied Rheneas. Rheneas did his best.
If I fail, he thought to himself. The passengers will be cross and the railway will close.
"Everything blurred. He was really too tired to make another turn of his wheels, but he did and another and another and another. Finally, tired but triumphant, Rheneas reached the station.
"I'm here at last," he wheezed.
"Thank you for getting us home," said the passengers. "We'll tell all our friends what a fine railway this is.". Here on Sodor, if one of us engines messes up, the passengers complain about how bad the railway is.
His driver was delighted. "You're a gallant little engine," he said to Rheneas. "When you're rested, we'll mend you, so you'll be ready for tomorrow."
"And," I smiled. "Rheneas always was ready for tomorrow."
"Thanks for telling us about him," whispered Duncan. "I was wrong. Passengers are important after all."
The next day, Rheneas came home. All the engines were there to greet him. Edward pushed his truck to the siding, where he was lifted onto his rails. That was the signal for a chorus of whistles from engines large and small. Everyone was happy and Rheneas was the happiest of all. I was glad to see my friend and he was so glad to see us.
"You know," he whispered to me. "This helps a little engine to feel that at last he has really come home."
A/N Respect my Thomasverse.